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Council alters plans for graduate elections

Student Council has decided to provide the University's graduate schools with an opportunity to schedule and conduct their own elections for Council, Honor and Judiciary Committee representatives.

Previously Council scheduled both graduate and undergraduate elections to be held at the same time, but Council leaders said several factors make it more convenient for the graduate schools to conduct their elections at any time.

Vice President for Administration Brock Jolly said Council has been working to provide graduate schools with this option for the last year.

The current Elections Committee Co-Chairs, Nancy Peterson and Jonathan Bertsch, made the final decision last week.

They sent letters to the governing bodies of the graduate schools, saying that they could schedule their elections for the fall.

Jolly said he believes the Darden School and the School of Law may hold their elections in the fall.

Darden students only attend for two years, so with the current system of spring elections "the only people who have the opportunity to run for Council are first years," he added.

President Taz Turner said holding elections in the fall also will solve another recurring problem - unfilled seats.

Turner said unfilled seats now are filled by the graduate school councils in the fall, and fall elections will "eliminate the first step of the process" of trying to fill all the available seats.

He also said that he feels fall elections for graduate schools will spark more interest in Council, Honor and the Judiciary Committees as well as greater publicity for running for positions.

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